Randi Rhodes' Suspension and the State of Left-Wing Radio

Effective immediately, Randi Rhodes is off the air. After a lengthy diatribe against Hillary Clinton (among others), Randi Rhodes has been suspended, according to FOXNews. During the course of a March 22 performance, Rhodes repeatedly used foul language to describe the presidential candidate. Air America, her broadcasting station, reports that they do not condone this sort of language, although they are known, and should be known, as a place of enlightened liberal dialogue.

Air America has suffered greatly since Al Franken left and left-wing talk radio was struggling even before that. To be frank, left-wing radio has been characterized as too nice, too low-key to be interesting, in a world where hard-hitting political fights have taken the stage. Hardball makes more interesting television. Left-wing shows typically try not to anger any particular group, sometimes to the point of sounding too calm and too boring for the average listener. Hosts like Stephanie Miller sprinkle political discussions in among less dangerous topics, like entertainment or, in Miller's case specifically, grand doses of fart jokes.

Realizing this, liberal radio seems to have begun trying to get more hard-hitting discussions going. Ed Schultz ("Where America Comes to Talk") opens up his radio show to huge varieties of listeners from all political backgrounds, though the show itself has a determinedly liberal slant. Schultz himself is a self-professed "leftie," though he is considerably more moderate than others who claim that title, as anyone who has heard a discussion by him regarding gun laws can vouch.

Seemingly, Rhodes was hired to spice things up. A liberal with a vendetta, she says the things that liberal hosts tend to avoid, often in frank and blunt language. Her recent comments take that one step farther, but her past shows demonstrate that she has strong opinions and is not afraid to articulate them.

Right-wing radio is full of hosts who are not afraid to articulate their opinions, even in the bluntest and coarsest of language. Perhaps this is why right-wing radio does a bit better, but maybe the time of radio has given way to the time of the television. Even though many still tune in to the variety of discourses over the radio waves, there are few in my circle who have heard of any of the hosts mentioned above, even though they are played continuously throughout the day on the local station. Ask someone about Jon Stewart, though? It doesn't matter what their political persuasion: Jon Stewart is someone almost everyone knows. Maybe Stephanie Miller would do well to marry Keith Olbermann and set up the liberal talk show match made in heaven. Wonder what Olbermann's wife would say to that?